On The Road: Combining Business With The "Pleasure" Of A Two-Year-Old

by Michele Cheplic | More from this Blogger

28 Oct 2006 05:27 AM

I don't know where you reside, but I happen to live in the Midwest portion of the United States. (Born and raised in Hawaii, but now a resident of the Midwest-don't ask!) I suspect like many places around the country (and perhaps the world) we are fortunate to have access to a slew of Halloween-themed events. This week our family decided to take advantage of a bunch of them. We traveled quite a bit over the last few days-much to the delight of my two-year-old daughter.

I had to fulfill a few obligations out of town, but decided to take a few side trips to spice up what could have been a very boring ride. Which brings me to my first point: if at all possible try to mix business with pleasure. Sometimes the most mundane business trips can be the catalyst for some memorable family adventures. For example, I had to be in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (you can read my review of the city by clicking here) this week. Prior to leaving I went online to research various Halloween events that were taking place in the city while we were there and planned accordingly.

In our case, I packed three bags, one with business attire, one with casual attire, and an extra bag stuffed with toys, books and snacks to keep my daughter busy while I tended to my obligations. When I was done we were off on our first adventure: The Mitchell Park Horticultural Conservatory-also known as "The Domes." The buildings are a series of three beehive-shaped glass domes, 140 feet in diameter at the base and 85 feet high, offering 15,000 square feet of growing space for plant displays. Each dome has a distinct climate and exhibit plants in a naturalistic setting. We have visited before, but during the month of October the "Show Dome" is blanketed in mums, pumpkins, apples and other fall colors. It was spectacular. As I took in the sights, my daughter spent her time trying to throw herself down in the carpet of colorful mums. When I went to grab her before her body made contact with the flowers she shouted: "Don't!" I explained to her that the Dome staff would not appreciate an imprint of her body in their handiwork and what's more, we don't shout, "Dooooon't" when we don't want someone to do something we say, "No thank you" or "Please stop." To which she replied: "Mommy, don't thank you. I gonna jump in the flowers." I knew then it was time to move on.

Later that evening we visited "The Great Pumpkin Festival." It is a highly anticipated annual event held at a local park in a northern suburb of the city. The entire park is decked out in hundreds of jack-o-lanterns. But, what makes the display so incredible is that no two carvings are the same-which is no easy task considering there are close to 1000 pumpkins. Each had a unique design-there were a variety of faces, including a few famous ones-presidents, actors, cartoon characters, etc. In addition, there were cravings of animals, states, countries, and letters-all lit up to create a massive pumpkin glow.

The event also included live bands, food booths stocked with typical fall foods (soups, caramel apples, popcorn balls, bratwurst...), a pumpkin carving center, face painting for the children, and autograph signing by local "star" athletes. With all of the activities you'd think my daughter would be in Halloween heaven. But alas, her attention was centered on a gray and white Siberian Husky---sure, she has seen Huskies before, in fact she owns two of the stuffed versions. So why was she so enamored? Well, this one just happened to be wearing a beige doggie sweater.

Oh, the joys of traveling with a 2-year-old. It certainly spices up a business trip.

Related Articles:

A Trip To "The Domes"

Traveling with a 2-Year-Old

Traveling with Children--The Travel Buddy

Traveling With Children-Learn From My Mistakes

Learn more about Michele Cheplic

Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism.

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